SOUTH BEND, Ind. – If you are superstitious, you hate to write this, but Notre Dame has never lost to Syracuse. The Irish lead the overall series, 17-0-1, with a 6-0-1 mark at Syracuse. The series dates back to 1997. The lone tie happened back in September of the 2016 season, a 1-1 draw in Syracuse.
Since, the Irish have won five straight, winning by a combined margin of 16-1. Overall in the series, the Irish have outscored the Orange, 59-5.
We’ll see how the next encounter will unfold on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the SU Soccer Stadium. The No. 17 Fighting Irish will kick off against the Syracuse Orange at 1 p.m. ET on ACCNX.
UP AND DOWN ACC
This year’s ACC slate has been up-and-down. The down being that the two draws were against teams that are currently in the bottom half of the standings. The up being that the Irish battled back in both those instances — Irish were down 0-2 at BC and 0-1 vs. NC State.
Another up — With this year’s 1-0 victory at Virginia, the Irish knocked off the Cavaliers in back-to-back meetings for the first time in program history. It also marked their second ever win in Charlottesville.
REINFORCEMENTS
Notre Dame lost three starters to the U20 World Cup and now all three are back in the fold.
The Canadian duo of Annabelle Chukwu and Clare Logan were back for the Virginia game, were immediately thrusted into the starting lineup and made an instant impact. Logan solidifed a backline that shutout a ranked Cavaliers squad. Then Chukwu netted the game-winner in the 1-0 victory.
Klenke returned to South Bend after earning a bronze medal with the U20 USA squad. Her first game back was NC State.
Klenke was named as one of the top returning players in the league and earned a 2024 Preseason All-ACC spot. In 2023, she was a Second Team All-ACC selection.
ELECTRIC ENGLE
Izzy Engle has nationally become a breakout start of 2024 and she’s just a freshman. Engle has 10 goals in 10 games, with four multi-goal performances.
- Her 10 goals are the fifth most in the country, and second in the ACC.
- Engle ranks second in the country and leads the ACC in goals per game at 1.00.
- Engle boasts three game-winners (Butler, TCU, Marquette), which ranks 19th nationally and third in the ACC.
- Engle’s 21 points rank 12th in the nation and third in the league. Her 2.1 points per game ranks sixth nationally, third in ACC.
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